Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 October 2013
41. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance if he will detail the outcomes from his series of meetings in Northern Ireland on Friday, 27 September; the persons he met and the content of his discussions. [41512/13]
View answerOn Friday September 27th I travelled to Belfast to speak at the Confederation of British Industry’s, Northern Ireland Annual Lunch at a time when economic fortunes on both sides of the border are showing positive signs of recovery. I discussed how our economies have gone through a major transformation over the last number of years and we are finally starting to see signs of stability and growth. I indicated that while no two economies are identical, there are many similarities between the causes of the crisis both sides of the border, there are common symptoms, and in my view, there are also common solutions evident in our recovery.
On both sides of the border, families and businesses borrowed heavily to invest in residential and commercial property. People got drawn into the property market with many small businesses moving beyond their core business and building up property portfolios. These same families and business are now struggling under the weight of this debt. As a result we have a situation where thousands of families and business cannot fully engage with the economy. At the broader level the bursting of the bubble has forced Governments to introduce measures that would not be contemplated in normal times. NAMA, our asset management company, is one such example.
Consistent with that theme, I met with First Minister, Peter Robinson, and the Finance Minister, Simon Hamilton at Stormont Castle in advance of the lunch to discuss NAMA’s activity in Northern Ireland. First Minister Robinson had raised concerns in the press earlier in the week that NAMA’s policies in Northern Ireland may constrain Northern Ireland’s recovery and so it was opportune that we were able to discuss this very important issue. We discussed NAMA’s involvement in Northern Ireland’s economy generally. NAMA’s strategy in Northern Ireland is aimed at generating sustainable activity and transactions in the Northern Ireland property market – both through orderly sales and through targeted initiatives such as vendor finance and joint ventures that are designed to overcome the lack of funding in the market and enhance the future value of Northern Ireland assets through a programme of investment funding. We also discussed how NAMA’s concerns reflect the concerns of members of the Northern Ireland Executive about the negative impact fire sales would have on the economy.
We discussed the very strong level of engagement NAMA has in Northern Ireland with all key stakeholders, which is supported by NAMA’s Northern Ireland Advisory Committee. NAMA is investing to enhance the value of its assets in Northern Ireland and has advanced significant amounts of new money into the Northern Ireland economy to assist in such projects as the construction of a new 95-unit housing development in Milmount, Dundonald, close to Belfast and to complete Lanyon Plaza and the Soloist Building which form part of a landmark office development in the centre of Belfast. This investment comes at a time when there are very few other sources of funding for projects in Northern Ireland. As has also recently been reported in the press, NAMA is working closely with local housing authorities and approved housing bodies in Northern Ireland and recently announced the sale of over 50 apartments to Oaklee Housing Association in Belfast.
Our meeting was very constructive with both sides sharing an understanding of the importance of NAMA to the economy in Northern Ireland and of the care NAMA is taking in its dealings in Northern Ireland through on going measures of support and considerations regarding the management of the portfolio into the future.
